


Why Is Near Blue?

by mellow (lacerations)



Category: Death Note
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Wammy House, Wammy's Era, feverish near
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-04
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-21 21:45:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1565123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lacerations/pseuds/mellow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Near gets sick and Mello looks after him. Fluff! </p>
<p>"Mero?"<br/>"Yes?"<br/>"Why are you being so nice to me?" He sounded so hopeless and confused, Mello wanted to cry. He wanted to tell Near the truth - that he wanted to protect him and look after him, that he was sorry for all the horrible things he'd said, all the pain he'd caused. He wanted to hold and kiss Near all over until he was warm and happy and better.<br/>'Cause you're sick, and I don't wanna get in trouble, obviously,' Mello thought of saying. Hiding his feelings. Hiding them forever. But his sudden urge to cuddle Near was stronger even than his need to preserve his tough-boy-mello-with-a-vendetta-against-near reputation…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Why Is Near Blue?

Last month a bulldozer had appeared at Wammy's and bulldozed Near's room. And some other people's rooms. But mainly Near's.   
"We've received a large anonymous donation, so we're going to renovate part of the orphanage," Roger had announced. Near had to move his mattress and his toys and his toothbrush into Mello and Matt's room, and effectively live with them for-   
"How long?" Mello had asked Roger, enraged that he had to share a room with the one he had declared his rival.   
"Three months."

But after just one month Mello was no longer enraged by Near, in fact quite the opposite. Well, they were still rivals competing for the place of L's successor, but Mello's secret crush-that-was-more-than-a-crush for Near had quite overtaken any feelings of rivalry. First Mello had gotten used to him, then started to like him, then started to more than like him. The way he ate, slowly and carefully, the way he twirled his hair around his finger… In the morning Near would wake up cute and sleepy eyed with his hair messed up and Mello would bite his lip and wish things were different and sigh. And punch Near in the shoulder on the way to breakfast, because that's how things were. 

\----

"I'm cold," said Near, shivering on his bed, his own voice sounding alien to his ears.   
"No, I'm hot." His eyes widened. "Can you see that, Mello? That big bug?" He pointed to the wardrobe and Mello rolled over on his stomach and glanced at it.   
"No."   
"Oh." Near's eyes rolled back in his head. Is he having an orgasm? wondered Mello, studying his face. Or dying?   
"I must be delirious," said Near quietly.   
"I think so," said Mello. "Maybe I should…" Give him some chocolate? He might throw it up, and what a waste that would be. Cuddle him and later deny it and put his memory of it down to delirium? Maybe not… Give him an ice bath! That was good for sick people, right? Probably.   
"Can you still see the bug, Near?"  
"Yes," he murmured, suddenly worried that the curtains were melting. No, there weren't any curtains in this room. Maybe Mello was melting. Maybe Mello was mmmllllll… hmmmmmm…  
"Hmmmmbbbbb," said Near, beginning to hum for no apparent reason. Mello stared at him, then carefully got up and went to the door.   
"I'll be right back," he said. "I'm going to the freezer." The freezer? Near wondered. Whatever for? 

Half an hour later…  
"It looks… cold," said Near nervously, staring at the bath full of tiny ice blocks from tiny ice block trays.   
"It took me twenty minutes to get all this ice in here. Get in the bath," Mello ordered, gently unbuttoning Near's pyjama top for him.   
"M-mello, I can-"  
"Huh?" Mello cast the top aside.   
"I can remove my clothes myself."  
"Oh," Mello said, embarrassed. "I'll check on you in a minute. Don't drown," he warned, forehead creasing, thinking that maybe he should stay and supervise the ill one. Near looked at him.   
"Or I'll be blamed for your death," he added, not wanting to be caught caring about Near too much.   
"Mmmkay," said Near, poking an ice block with his little finger. 

An hour had passed.   
Mello woke up and blinked, groggy from his long nap. Where's Near got to? he wondered. Better not be still in the bath. He heard a splash. 

Near sat frozen in the bath, knees up to his chest, eyes glossy. Was he dead?   
"Are you dead, Near?" asked Mello through the door.   
"No," said Near, teeth chattering. Mello walked in, closed the door behind him and sat down next to the bath. His long hair was messy today because he hadn't brushed it. He put his hand on Near's forehead. Ice block. Oh dear. Without warning, he put his hands under Near's arms and hoisted him up out of the bath, turning his head away from the frozen one's naked body for a second and then placing him onto the furry mat. Near grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his lower half.   
"Why the hell didn't you get out of the bath?" he said, staring at Near's chest which was blue due to coldness. It was also shivering and wet and smooth and he yearned to reach out and - Why did these thoughts invade his mind?!!!   
"The cold water seems to have cured my delirium," Near said. "I can no longer see the bug."   
"Well that's great Near but what if you have hypothermia or something? Seriously, you're meant to be the smart one…"   
"We are both smart ones," said Near, drying himself quickly and putting his pyjamas back on.   
"Yeah… well I feel like I shouldn't leave you alone again in case you die. Come to the library with me I wanna find Matt," said Mello, grabbing Near by the wrist and pulling him along. 

When they found Matt he was distracted playing PSP and Mello had to punch him. He yelped and turned around, alarmed not by Mello and his fist but by the sudden Near in front of him. The sudden blue Near.   
"Why is Near blue?" asked Matt.   
"Oh… um…"   
"I had a fever so Mello gave me an ice bath," said Near and sat down on the carpet next to Matt.   
"What!?" Matt choked on a laugh. "Mello GAVE you an ice bath? As in he bathed you? Like, you were na-"   
"Shut up Matt," hissed Mello, and Near blushed, bringing some colour into his frozen cheeks.   
"You're shivering to death, I'm gonna go get you some warm clothes, Near," said Matt kindly, "obviously Mello's not gonna look after you probably, well-"   
"I'll do it," said Mello, glaring, somewhere between annoyed and embarrassed. Matt stared at him meaningfully as if to say 'you what now'.   
"Come on then," Mello said, beckoning for Near to follow him. 

Fifteen minutes later, Mello and Near were on Near's bed (mattress) talking in hushed tones. Mello had lent Near two of Matt's hoodies and wrapped the blankets from all three of their beds around him.   
Although usually a very independent, self-contained organism, Near felt so nice having Mello there. He was sick and weak and he needed someone to look after him. He needed Mello to look after him…   
"If you hadn't gotten sick I could've -" Mello tried to think of some excuse to be angry at Near, but he couldn't.   
"Why are you whispering?" whispered Near, who was the same colour as the blanket wrapped around him (white). At least he wasn't blue anymore.   
"Because you are," whispered Mello.   
"I'm whispering because I have lost my voice."   
"Oh."   
"Because I'm sick. And cold." He coughed.  
"No!" said Mello, angry at the coldness that was still harming his Near. He pulled Near closer to him and wrapped his arms tight around the boy. Both enveloped in blankets now, they sat there clinging onto one another.   
Is this really happening? thought Near, as images of Mello - glaring at him from a distance - poking him - splashing water on him - yelling at him - laughing at him - flashed into his head and contrasted with this new reality. Mello holding him. Mello's skinny yet strong arms around him, making him warm. Mello's body pressed against his. Mello's hair tickling his ear.   
Is this really happening? thought Mello, wanting it to happen more. No one must know about this, he thought. Especially not Matt.   
Suddenly the lights went out.   
"BLACKOUT!" shouted Matt from some room.  
"It's so dark," said Near after a few seconds. There were no windows in the bedrooms. A small amount of sunlight from the well lit hallway came in through the crack under Mello's bedroom door. They could just make out the shapes of each other's faces in the almost-blackness.   
"It's okay. I'll protect you," Mello said and gently stroked where he thought Near's hair might be. It was curly and soft, like a sheep but not. Near shifted closer and put his mouth to Mello's ear nervously.  
"Mero?"  
"Yes?"  
"Why are you being so nice to me?" He sounded so hopeless and confused, Mello wanted to cry. He wanted to tell Near the truth - that he wanted to protect him and look after him, that he was sorry for all the horrible things he'd said, all the pain he'd caused. He wanted to hold and kiss Near all over until he was warm and happy and better.  
'Cause you're sick, and I don't wanna get in trouble, obviously,' Mello thought of saying. Hiding his feelings. Hiding them forever. But his sudden urge to cuddle Near was stronger even than his need to preserve his tough-boy-mello-with-a-vendetta-against-near reputation…  
"Because… I dunno," he said intelligently.   
"Mello hates Near," said Near.   
"No," Mello said, sighing. The short silence that followed felt so long. Near coughed twice. Mello didn't know what to do. He groaned and threw himself back on the bed.   
"Mello?" said Near, leaning over him worried that Mello had had some kind of seizure.   
"Mello doesn't hate Near," said Mello shakily, realising with a deep breath that what he was about to say could have possible negative consequences.   
"Mello loves Near," said Mello, loving Near. He sat up again and put his hands on Near's cheeks, looking into his eyes. 

"Nnn," said Near, staring back, made an odd noise and his mouth moved into the corner of his face. He seemed to smile, but his face was a little grainy (due to the lack of lighting in the room) so it was hard to tell. 'Please let it be a smile,' thought Mello.   
"Mello loves and wants Near," Mello said honestly. Nervously, Near's lips curved upwards. Definitely a smile.   
"Mello," whispered the smaller one happily and he wrapped the blanket further around himself and around Mello, bringing them closer together.   
"But… really?" Near desperately hoped he wasn't being played a trick on.   
"Really." Mello bit his lip. "Can Mello kiss Near?"   
Near swallowed.   
"Yes. Mello can… kiss N-" Mello gently pressed his lips to Near's, kept them there for a few seconds then pulled away. Near, very softly, moaned and seemed to melt slightly into the bed.   
"Was that OK?" asked Mello, suddenly not caring if Matt found out. If everyone found out.   
"Yes," said Near and locked his hands in Mello's hair, pulling him closer. After a brief moment of fierce eye contact that was piercing even in the semi-darkness, their mouths joined again and Mello sucked on Near's bottom lip.   
"NNNNNN," said N, leaning into Mello then falling on top of him. Mello laughed and put his arms around Near, drawing him in. Near made a sweet noise and curled up to Mello, resting his head on the older boy's shoulder.   
"I'm sick," said Near suddenly. "You'll get sick."   
"I don't care."   
"What if you hallucinate and see things melting?"   
"I like things to be melting," said Mello, thinking of chocolate, and Near's beautiful eyes.   
"Mello melting?"  
"Huh?"  
"Mello melt into Near."   
"Wha?"   
"Please." Mello, not entirely sure what Near was talking about, went with his instinct - he turned them both over so that he the one was on top, and kissed the pale pretty one again, slowly this time.   
"Like this?"   
"Mmm," Near murmured. "But more."   
"More?"   
Near put his arms around Mello's back and pulled him down so they were pressed together.   
"Ah! Aren't I squishing you?"  
"I want to be squished," said Near, sounding truly content. "Mello is warm." And he yawned cutely.   
"So are you, you're not blue anymore, Near," said Mello happily, thinking perhaps the ice bath had cured him of his sickness and then the cuddle cured him of his iciness. Mello sighed and smiled, feeling Near's small warm body under him and wanting to somehow be even closer to him, though it probably wasn't physically possible - well, unless they… no. Not yet. Later. Another time.   
"Does Mello really love Near?" said Near, still unsure. Or maybe he just wanted to hear Mello say it again.   
"Yes, I really do." And he shifted to Near's side, not wanting to suffocate him. Their legs and arms were still entwined, skin touching.   
"Near really loves Mello too," said Near. In the dark they could only just see each other's eyes but Near could see Mello's sparkling.   
"You look tired," Mello noticed, not responding to Near's confession of love although it had actually made him more happy than words could describe.   
"I am tired." Near yawned again.   
"Go to sleep if you want to. I'll stay here, I'll stay with you until you fall asleep."   
"What about after I fall asleep?"  
"I'll stay with you until you wake up."   
"And after I wake up?"  
"I'll stay with you forever, Near."   
"My Mello?"   
"My Near," Mello laughed softly and stared up at the ceiling, stroking Near's hair, not even slightly regretting any of this. 'Thank god Near got sick or I might never have told him,' he thought to himself.   
And they held each other tight and drifted together into sleep.


End file.
